A call to prayer.
In two days' time, on Sunday 15 January, representatives from 70 nations will gather in Paris for a conference aimed at resurrecting the Israel/Palestine peace process.
Last week we commented on the passing of anti-Israel UNSC Resolution 2334 and John Kerry's speech setting out parameters for a 'two-state solution' (both December 2016). The next stage in Obama's swansong would appear to be a last-minute attempt to force through some kind of international agreement along these lines, using this Paris summit.
We do not yet know the form this agreement might take - whether further pressure on Israel to declare their West Bank settlements illegal, or even a global 'roadmap' for establishing a Palestinian state.1 Its outcome may quickly be overturned when President-Elect Trump assumes office next Friday (20 January) – nevertheless, its clear follow-on from Resolution 2334 and its rushed placement just before Trump's inauguration are causing concern amongst Israelis and friends of Israel.
The Nations Gather
70 nations will be present at the summit (though some news outlets have reported that the eventual number might be 72 or 77), which has been instigated by the French and will be chaired by French President Francois Hollande.
This is prompting some biblical speculation. One Rabbinic commentator has noted that in Torah terms, '70 nations' signifies all nations – prompting connections to be made to Bible prophecies about all the nations of the world gathering against Israel during the end times.2
70 Nations Deciding the Fate of One
What is certain is that this is no gathering for the sake of peace – however it might be billed. We do not see similar conferences happening to solve the Syrian civil war, or to combat the spread of ISIS, for instance. Israel is being singled out in yet another international attempt to carve up her God-given land and further undermine support for her very existence – as Charles Gardner eloquently expounds in his article this week .
Though Israeli PM Netanyahu and Palestinian President Abbas have been invited to attend the conference's conclusion, Netanyahu has refused this invitation on principle, stating: "This conference is a fraud, a Palestinian scam under French auspices, whose goal is to lead to the adoption of additional anti-Israeli positions".3 Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman has called the summit "a modern-day Dreyfus trial".4
70 nations will be present at the summit, prompting some biblical speculation.
The present American embassy in Israel, Tel Aviv. See Photo Credits.American Betrayal
Earlier this week, Washington confirmed that John Kerry will be in attendance, as part of his last foreign trip as Secretary of State.5 Relations between Israel and the US have been at an all-time low since UNSC Resolution 2334 was passed last month. Obama's clear involvement in this surfaced soon after, in what many are calling a deep betrayal of the long-standing friendship between the US and Israel.
These diplomatic tensions are being worsened by the current outcry against Donald Trump both within and outside of the USA, as he has so far refused to rescind his promise to move the American embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Indeed, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas will meet with Pope Francis at the Vatican on Saturday, the day before the Paris conference, as part of a campaign to stop Trump's 'explosive' plan.6
Israel's Last Chance?
All this is coming at a particularly vulnerable time for Israelis, who are still recovering from the terror attack last week in Jerusalem, when a lorry was driven deliberately into a group of IDF soldiers.
Israeli officials have predicted that the chain of international events currently unfolding will undermine Netanyahu's leadership and incite further Palestinian violence, whilst removing all hope of a 'two-state solution'.
As if to confirm this, a top adviser to the Palestinian President has told The Jerusalem Post that the Paris conference is Israel's 'last chance' to accept such a 'solution'.7 In a veiled threat, he implied that if Israel does not bow to the pressure being loaded upon them by the world, they will be solely responsible for the breakdown of the peace process and any violence that might ensue.
This will be no gathering for the sake of peace - no matter how it might be billed.
Unfolding Rapidly
Events are moving quickly. The week ahead looks set to be momentous – with the Sunday summit feeding into a further convening of the UN on Israel/Palestine matters on Tuesday 17 January.
The World Economic Forum at Davos, Switzerland, where global leaders meet annually to discuss the world's future in both open and closed meetings, also begins on Tuesday, whilst Trump's inauguration is set for Friday 20 January.
There is certainly no time like the present for Christians to turn to the word of God for guidance, hope and encouragement in prayer! But what are we to expect – and how are we to pray?
Watch and Pray – But How?
We know that in general terms, those who seek to harm Israel do so at their peril – for they risk bringing Divine retribution upon themselves. This is an eternal principle set out in Scripture (e.g. Gen 12:3), the grim reality of which has been confirmed time and again through history.
The Bible is also very clear that at the end of days there will be a special, global revolt against Israel (e.g. Zech 12-14, Rev 16, Jer 25), with many nations assembling together to attack Jerusalem. This will be part of the Lord's judgment - and part of an inevitable chain of events foretold in Scripture that lead directly to the return of Jesus Messiah.
Joel 3:1-2 specifies that these nations will historically have had a hand in scattering Jews into exile and dividing up the Lord's land. However, the siege will be directed against Zion (Jerusalem), implying that the City at the centre of it all will remain under (or eventually be restored to) Israeli control: "On that day, when all the nations of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure themselves" (Zech 12:2-3).
The eternal principle set out in Scripture is that those who seek to harm Israel do so at their peril.
Though the nations conspire together, however, the timings of this final onslaught are completely in the hands of the Lord God. Psalm 2 is a wonderful psalm for regaining this heavenly perspective ("Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain?...The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them...").
As Christians watching keenly the events currently happening on the world stage, we must pray that the Lord will accomplish his purposes fully at this time, using the instability and the great evil abroad in the world to bring as many into the Kingdom as possible. We should pray blessing on the people of Israel – and seek to support them in more tangible ways. And we might pray that Britain will work for Israel's best interests in all our diplomatic endeavours, instead of paying lip service to her one day and betraying her the next.
A Final Warning – and a Hope
Finally, we can all take heed of the warning in Zephaniah 2, given to those nations that would come against Israel. This is the very same chapter that prophesies the emptying of Gaza and the final destruction of Canaan, the land of the Philistines (from whence we get our modern terms 'Palestine' and 'Palestinian'). The warning is this:
Gather yourselves together...Before the decree is issued, before the day passes like chaff, before the Lord's fierce anger comes upon you, before the day of the Lord's anger comes upon you! Seek the Lord, all you meek of the Earth who have upheld His justice. Seek righteousness, Seek humility. It may be that you will be hidden in the day of the Lord's anger.
References
1 A draft closing statement for the conference was leaked by Haaretz earlier this week. Full text available here.
2 Berkowitz, Biblical Origins of the 70-Nation Anti-Israel Paris Conference. Breaking Israel News, 5 January 2017.
3 Ravid, B. Netanyahu: Paris Peace Conference Is Rigged by Palestinians Under French Auspices. Haaretz, 12 January 2017.
4 Ynet News, Associated Press. Abbas hopes Paris summit ends settlements. 27 December 2016.
5 AFP, Kerry to attend Mideast peace conference in Paris. Times of Israel, 11 January 2017.
6 Lazaroff, T. Abbas to meet Pope Francis in advance of Paris parley. The Jerusalem Post, 11 January 2017.
7 Rasgon, A. Palestinians put hope in Paris conference as possible 'last chance' for two-states. The Jerusalem Post, 3 January 2017.
